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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Mitt Romney pleaded ignorance when asked to comment on the
EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule at the January 8, 2012 NBC News Facebook
debate in Concord, NH:

John Distaso, NH Union Leader: Great, for Governor Romney,
I'm gonna stay with you for one moment here. On the-- talking about
regulation. One of your prime, New Hampshire supports, Senator Kelly
Ayotte, has said, quote, "New Hampshire should not be the tailpipe for pollutants
from out of state power plants." Many Senate Republicans attacked an
EPA rule limiting air pollution that affects downwind states. But she and
others, including Scott Brown, joined with the president and Senate Democrats
to block a repeal effort. Now is this an example, this cross-state air
pollution rule, of fair regulation? Something that we in the Northeast
are very concerned about, in terms of-- pollution? Or is this
over-regulation, job-killing over-regulation?

Mitt Romney: Well, I'm not-- I'm not familiar with this
specific regulation, as it-- as it applies to-- to New Hampshire, but I do
believe that we have a responsibility to keep the air clean. And we have
to find ways to assure that we don’t have the pollution of one state
overwhelming the-- the-- ability of another state to have clean air. I
know in my state of Massachusetts, we-- we receive a lot of air from the rest
of the country, obviously, given the winds coming from the West of the country
to the East.

And so the responsibility in our state, was to get the
cost-- get the-- the emissions from our power plants down. That's one of
the reasons why we moved to natural gas. And-- and really, by the way,
this-- this discussion about energy and security and getting the cost of
gasoline down. The-- the big opportunity here is not just a new oil
distribution system, but it's natural gas.

We have massive new natural gas reserves that have been
found in Pennsylvania, in-- in North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas. Natural
gas cheap, a fraction of the cost per BTU of-- of oil. If we want to help
people in New England have-- not only homes and businesses that emit less
pollutant into the air, and therefore would have cleaner air, and also have
lower-cost energy, it's let's build out this natural gas system so that we can
take advantage of that new enormous source of American economic strength.

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, who has endorsed Romney,
is on the former Massachusetts Governor’s list of potential running mates. She has joined Romney on the campaign trail on a number of occasions.

Just two months ago, Ayotte provided a nuanced explanation of her vote to save the Cross-State
Air Pollution Rule:

Kelly Ayotte: Mr. President, I rise today to discuss Senate Joint
Resolution 27, a resolution of disapproval of the Cross-State Air Pollution
Rule. I appreciate my friend - the Senator from Kentucky - for bringing
his concerns forward through this resolution. However, this is an issue
that I have been extensively involved with as New Hampshire's former Attorney
General, and I believe this resolution is misguided. This issue requires a
balanced approach, and when looking at environmental regulations, we must view
each on a case-by-case basis. In that vein, I cannot support this
resolution.

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is designed to control
emissions of air pollution that cause air quality problems in downwind states,
and is estimated to reduce power plant sulfur dioxide emissions by 73 percent
and emissions from nitrogen oxides by 54 percent from 2005 levels. It is
important to note that similar pollution standards have been in place for six
years - first implemented by the Bush administration in 2005 - and many
utilities have already taken steps to comply with the rule. The rule encourages
the use of the best technology available so downwind states such as New
Hampshire will be able to achieve national clean air standards. Without
this rule in place, New Hampshire will be unable to achieve national clean air
standards due to air pollution that is outside of the state's regulatory
control.

We have a long, bipartisan tradition in New Hampshire of
working to advance common sense, balanced environmental regulations.
That's the perspective from which I approach this resolution. From my
time as the state's Attorney General, I understand well that New Hampshire is
one of several downwind states in what is infamously known as "America's
tailpipe." For far too long, air pollution generated by Midwestern
coal-fired power plants has been allowed to flow into the jet stream unabated
and to settle in the New England region - leading to diminished air quality in
my home state on New Hampshire.

As Attorney General, I worked to protect Granite State
residents and our environment from air pollutants generated by Midwestern
coal-fired power plants. The reality is that air pollution does not stop at
state borders, and New Hampshire should not be the tailpipe for pollutants from
out-of-state power plants. It is a matter of common sense to ensure that
one state's emissions are not unduly harming another state's air quality.

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About Me

A lifelong political junkie, I have been blogging about New Hampshire's First-in-the-Nation presidential primary since 2007. My coverage has been cited by the national media, including CBS News and The Wall Street Journal. David holds a MA in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire.